Moving to Denver

Denver is the next stop, and I am starting to look for places to live and do stuff. Sure would be glad to get some feedback from any of you guys in the RockyMountain State about life in Denver... specifically good p gay- and dog-friendly places to live, about the Light Rail, about the cost of living and about Metro State College where I was just offered a job as a study abroad advisor.

I'm beginning the apartment hunt (very difficult to do while still in LA) and am surprised at how competitive the market is in Denver proper! Can any one give me any feedback about places like Glendale or Cherry Creek?

And of course.... if any of you out there would just let me know who you are and how to find you, I'd be really glad!

Capitol Hill is the "gayborhood" in the city and it is very dog friendly. Tends to be pretty cheap as far as rent goes, too. Unfortunately, there is no lightrail stop in that area, but it might be easy to catch a bus to the light rail station. The light rail stops right at the Auraria Campus, which is where Metro State College is, so that's convenient for you.

You'll love Denver. It has some very friendly people, and there's tons of opportunity for fun in the mountains (30 minutes away) and in the city.

Cherry Creek is a more expensive place to live, lots of yuppies there. Lots of closet gays and conservatives. Glendale is right next to Aurora, the "hood" suburb of Denver. I've heard that it's a pretty friendly place, but far from all of the fun.

Welcome to town! Denver, IMO, is basically the best place ever. The weather's awesome, the people are relaxed and good-looking, the mountains and forests are like an hour away, there's a great music and theater scene, and some of the best beer in the nation, if not the world. Colorado's also a swing state, so it feels very connected and "real" as opposed to some of the more bubble-like places I've lived, and at least geographically, the state is like a little European country, with lots of hidden gems of small towns hidden about the mountain range.

+1 on everything allanon said. I really wouldn't be too worried about being close to the light-rail. We only have one major route going north south (with an east-west one about to be completed), so it's only useful if you need to commute between downtown and a far-flung area. Denver is a lot smaller of a city than it feels, so getting around is usually not much of an issue. I live in Capitol Hill and bike almost exclusively (even through the winter - the snow doesn't really stick as it's in the 50s or better for at least half the season) and I really believe that it's the best way to get around. I used to have to take the light-rail to work actually and it was only a 6 or 7 minute bike ride from here. I'm also part of a car-share program, which are popular in this part of town - as is the city-wide bike sharing program installed about a year ago.

As far as where to live, it depends on what your priorities are and if you're looking to rent or buy. I live in the Capitol Hill/Cheesman Park area which is super central, really walkable, pretty low-rent, and sufficiently weird, and you can still live in a house. If you want something similarly close to the activity but quieter then check out Congress Park or Baker (Uptown if you're cool with in an apartment). Don't live downtown unless you love maneuvering through traffic and people. If you're looking to buy, then look at Baker, Five-Points, or Park Hill (which are inexpensive and you can have a real backyard, but the latter two at least are still pretty seedy in places and values are rising rather slowly) If you're ok being a little more removed and have a car, the Highlands and Washington Park area are beautiful and quiet. The gays are really everywhere in the downtown area, but mostly in Uptown and Capitol Hill. Cherry Creek and Glendale aren't really on my radar as I just think of them as McMansion-land where nobody knows anybody else and, as allanon says, full of closet-gays and conservatives. Just about everywhere is dog-friendly, and you're never more than a few blocks away from a park in the downtown area.

Congratulations on the new job. Colorado is one of those states that's really badass if you like the region. Denver is a rather ass kicking city.

Ive been to Denver a couple of times, I really like the city. I dont know why MochaMuscle hates it so much.

Yeah seriously.

I guess the worst thing about it is that the bowl that it's in in the middle of the mountains acts as a barrier so the smog never ever gets out, but that's pretty much the only bad thing I can say about it.

Yea but their is literally a bubble around LA that prevents the smog from getting out, still some smog driven mad men love it there.

Congratulations on the new job. Colorado is one of those states that's really badass if you like the region. Denver is a rather ass kicking city.

Ive been to Denver a couple of times, I really like the city. I dont know why MochaMuscle hates it so much.

Yeah seriously.

I guess the worst thing about it is that the bowl that it's in in the middle of the mountains acts as a barrier so the smog never ever gets out, but that's pretty much the only bad thing I can say about it.

Yea but their is literally a bubble around LA that prevents the smog from getting out, still some smog driven mad men love it there.

I love LA. And never see a smog bubble unless it's really foggy.

Back to the OP: Denver is a great city-- Boulder is also close which is also a great city. I feel that Denver and Boulder both are great for exercising and being outside. The drivers there are very respectful of people that run/bike outside. Definitely a plus if you like to workout outside.

Congratulations on the new job. Colorado is one of those states that's really badass if you like the region. Denver is a rather ass kicking city.

Ive been to Denver a couple of times, I really like the city. I dont know why MochaMuscle hates it so much.

Yeah seriously.

I guess the worst thing about it is that the bowl that it's in in the middle of the mountains acts as a barrier so the smog never ever gets out, but that's pretty much the only bad thing I can say about it.

Yea but their is literally a bubble around LA that prevents the smog from getting out, still some smog driven mad men love it there.

I love LA. And never see a smog bubble unless it's really foggy.

Back to the OP: Denver is a great city-- Boulder is also close which is also a great city. I feel that Denver and Boulder both are great for exercising and being outside. The drivers there are very respectful of people that run/bike outside. Definitely a plus if you like to workout outside.

Congrats though on a new job Count your blessings

Doesnt mean it isnt their.

If you go to the beach you can see it. I mean, literally, the bubble opens up once or twice a year to let the fog out, which is why SF is 100 times better, the fog comes in and takes out all our smog.

I've been in Denver 13 years (originally from Chicago)... trust me, there is no smog in Denver. In fact, it's actually rare that the smog gets trapped in the city as described. Never last more than a day or so. The mountains create their own weather patterns and pretty much move the air around.

Denver gets most of it's snow in the late winter/early spring, so it's pleasant during the cold season.

One of the highlights is that you can wake up in Denver and be on a ski lift in just over an hour.

AMoonHawk saidYou want to live around the Capitol Hill area, more specific in the Cheeseman park area. Stay away from west of Broadway not a good area to live in.

Google "cheesman park denver", any where around the radius of the park is ok.

what about 13th and Grant? i just found an apartment there that looked pretty good... having may aunt and uncle do a drive-by this afternoon.

13th and Grant is very central and you could walk to Auraria campus from there. But Grant is a major street in that part of town and it will be loud. You are only like 4 blocks away from downtown proper there.

First, welcome to town. I love Denver because it is a real city, at the same time that it doesn't get all impersonal like some of the other major cities in the country. This is the kind of town where it is normal to strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street. The best thing about this town is that it has a lot of funk and there are people from all walks of life here.

First, I would not live in the Cherry Creek area. It is the most affluent part of town, and by correlation, the least diverse and the most snooty. Yeah there are nice places to shop there, and that's about the only reason I go to Cherry Creek.

A lot of guys will be giving you advice about our gayborhoods in and around Capitol Hill, so I'll skip those. Capitol Hill is a fun place to live, but it can be very much of a 24/7 neighborhood- lots of noise and crazy activity at all hours of the day.

Light rail: Someone mentioned here that if you're in interior Denver, you won't need it. That is true: you're so close to downtown that you should either be walking or taking a local bus. If you're in Capitol Hill, you could walk to Metro State in under 30 minutes. The RTD bus system here is great and I use it all the time, although the 15 in particular tends to get a little crowded and seedy. All other routes are just fine and very efficient. The best thing to do to get to Metro is to take a bus downtown, and transfer onto the light rail for just one stop, which will drop you right off on the main campus. Look at an RTD system map if this helps you decide on what areas are best for your transit needs: www.rtd-denver.com

Neighborhoods in Denver proper are very inner city, and change in name and character about once every six to ten blocks. The city starts to spread out quickly though, and by the time you get close to Colorado Boulevard, you can easily find great houses with nice yards. The closer you get to downtown, the less yard space you have, until ultimately you're in condo and apartment situations.

For six years I used to live down in the 1st Avenue and Grant area. That was a great neighborhood. A lot like Capitol Hill, but quieter at night. I could get downtown in 10-15 minutes on the bus (the 0.) It's getting to be a trendy area of town and rents there are going up, but are still reasonable.

I love the areas along either side of Alameda, between Broadway and Downing St. If you lived in this area, you could take the 3 west to the lightrail, transfer, and then be at Metro in about 30 minutes.

West Washington Park is an AWESOME area and pretty affordable. It is generally south of Alameda, and between Broadway, Downing, and I-25. But the bus lines aren't the fastest to get from here to downtown. Rents are reasonable, but not cheap.

Congress Park is a lot of fun. It is basically the next neighborhood out from Capitol Hill. It is still very much inner city, but just a hair more room for houses and apartments. Easy bus transportation to get from here to downtown. This neighborhood has a great housing stock. You can still rent an economical shoebox in this neighborhood if you need to, but there are some super nice homes too.

If you can relax a bit and aren't too worried about living near a gay epicenter, lol, check out some of the neighborhoods east of Colorado Blvd, between Glendale and 17th Ave. There are some nice places here, still city, but 1940s neighborhoods that are just starting to open up. From this area you can get downtown on the route 10 or the 6 in about 20 minutes.

16th Avenue from downtown to Colorado Blvd has some real treasures. 16th has a great bike path and you can ride downtown in 10 minutes.

Moving north from 16th Ave there are several neighborhoods, some of which are the oldest in the state. Neighborhoods like Five Points and Curtis part are very fun places to be, but they are still very much transitional (or being gentrified, depending on your perspective.) I would consider living in these areas, but they are by every sense of the definition, inner city neighborhoods.

Apartment finding can be tricky here, and unless you're used to California prices, you will probably find it a little expensive. Just last summer the apartment vacancy rate in Denver proper was under 3%. That makes things hard, but hey, obviously this is a happening place and people want to live here

Lower Downtown (LoDo) would be close to where you will be working and a fun area with lots of restaurants and (straight) clubs, plus all the big sports stadiums are near-by.

Highlands neighborhood is also great...restaurants, cafes etc. and still really close to the action downtown.

Cherry Creek isn't bad...you'll just pay through the nose for it --think Beverly Hills step-sister with an inferiority complex

There are two beautiful high-rises right off of City Park (the Palado ?) with excellent views of the mountains and access to the park, plus the Denver Zoo and Museum of Science is right there....I like the area

Stapleton took the old airport and turned it into a nice area of houses/apartments/business area....mixed use community. Another similar one is Lowry -former air-force base that has also been re-vamped

Just to the west in the city of Lakewood is a development called Belmar, another mixed use community with town-homes, apartments, shopping, movies, and a small theater. Also a really nice progressively minded Spiritual community is close by (Mile Hi Church -kind of along the lines of Agape in LA -if you're so inclined). I really like how it is there, and it's not a big commute (or eventually light-rail ride) to Metro State.